Bidding
RequirementsWritten
description of the procedures for submitting bids for
construction of a project. Usually includes a very brief
description of the project, where to get copies of the documents
and the terms for doing so, how to fill out the bid form, what
else to submit with the bid form, how long the bids must be good
for, what qualifications the bidder must have, insurance and
bonding requirements, conditions under which substitute products
will be considered, and how to get answers to bidders' questions.
The documents commonly prepared are Invitation to Bid
(Advertisement for Bids), Instructions to Bidders, and Bid Form.

BIM

The acronym BIM is usually used to mean Building Information
Model—the 3-D geometric model of a building made using software like
Autodesk Revit, Graphisoft ArchiCad, or Bentley Architecture.

Bridging
Project delivery method in which the owner hires a design
professional to perform conceptual and preliminary design
(usually up to 35 percent complete) after which a design-builder
contracts to complete the design and
perform the construction.

C

Code
Authorities Governmental permits and inspections
agencies who must approve the construction documents before
construction may begin. Many building, fire, gas, mechanical,
electrical, and other codes may have the force of law in the
governmental jurisdiction where the project is located. All the
laws and regulations that govern the project are collectively
referred to as the "Applicable Code" and "Code
Authorities" refers to all the agencies whose approval is
required. Other terms commonly used are "regulatory
agencies" and
"authorities having jurisdiction."

Conceptual
Documents The documents an owner or his design
professional prepares to give instructions to a design-builder
about how to design the project. In practice, this varies a lot
but the essential information required before a contract between
the owner and design-builder can be signed includes a Space Program, a document
that defines the quality of
the built elements (often referred to as whole-building performance
requirements), and contractual
requirements.

Construction
Documents The
documents describing what to build and how to build it. These
usually are drawings and specifications. For small, simple
projects, the specifications may actually be placed on the
drawings.

Construction
Manager There are two types of construction manager. One
functions as the owner's agent, to coordinate and schedule the
operations of multiple prime
contractors. The other is a general contractor
who provides pre-construction services to
the owner for a project on which the same contractor will be the
prime contractor.

Constructor
Any entity performing construction. Can be a contractor or the owner's own
forces. Constructor is
not a widely used term but is less ambiguous than
"contractor", which could mean any two parties that
have a contract.

Contract
Documents The documents describing the contractor's
obligations. These include the construction
documents and the contractual requirements.

Contractor Any entity who
has a contractual relationship with another entity. In
construction, the term contractor usually refers to a general
contractor, who is the main contractor that the owner has a
contract with (also known as a "prime" contractor). In
situations where the owner has contracts with multiple
contractors, they are referred to collectively as multiple prime
contractors. Constructors whose contract is with a prime
contractor are referred to as subcontractors. The term
"builder" can refer to a contractor or to a developer,
usually residential.

Contractual
Requirements The
agreement between the two parties and the conditions of the
contract. These include how much will be paid and for what,
procedures for payments, modifications, resolving disputes, and
turning the project over, and other administrative requirements.
Contractual requirements are usually based on a standard form of
agreement and conditions that is published by an industry group
(such as AIA, EJCDC, ConsensusDOCS, DBIA). Most are copyrighted
documents.
None are included in SpecLink-E.

CostLink/AE
Building Systems Design, Inc.'s estimating system for design
professionals. More
information.

D

Descriptive
Specifications
Construction specifications written to require certain products
with specific physical characteristics. The specifier has already
decided that the specified product meets functional needs. Also
refered to as prescriptive specifications. For an individual
product, proprietary, performance, and descriptive specifying
techniques may be used. Back to top

Design-Bid-Build
Project delivery method in which the owner hires a
design professional to design the project and prepare
construction documents, which are then issued to solicit bids
from constructors. The owner-constructor contract is usually
based on a lump sum fixed price. This is the most common project
delivery method in the U.S. Variations on design-bid-build relate
to different methods of arriving at the contract sum or price,
such as negotiation or cost-plus-a-fee, but the same general
procedure is followed.

Design-Build
Project delivery method in which the owner hires a
single entity to perform both design and construction.
Intermediate between design-build and design-bid-build is "bridging
."

Design-Builder
Any single entity with which an owner or prospective owner
contracts to perform both design and construction.
A
design-builder may be a construction management entity, a
conventional general contractor, a design professional, a
developer, or any other entity the owner is willing to enter into
a contract with.

Design
Criteria The requirements of the owner and any
regulatory agencies having jurisdiction. For a building or other
facility, design criteria cover a wide variety of requirements of
different types, including the
space program, performance requirements, and prescriptive
specifications. BSD SpecLink-E includes an extensive set of Design
Criteria documents for buildings of many types.

Designer
A design professional appropriate to the type of work
being designed. For building permits, construction documents
usually need to be stamped and signed by a registered architect
(R.A.) or licensed professional engineer (P.E.). Engineering
disciplines include structural, civil, mechanical, and
electrical. Design professionals also include landscape
architects and interior designers.

Drawings
Construction drawings show where to build the project,
sizes, shapes, and which products to use where. Drawings are
almost always prepared on large-size sheets (24 by 36 inches is
common) and often are prepared using CAD, plotted (printed), and
reduced in size before reproduction. The dividing line between
what should be shown on drawings versus shown in the specifications is not
absolute. Drawings are used for
other purposes than construction, such as for owner review, for
cost estimator information, and for approval by code authorities.
In these cases, the type of drawing required is determined by the
audience and the contractual relationships, if any, between the
drawing preparer, the owner, and the audience.

F

Facility
The preferred
term for the result of a construction project. The term facility
encompasses all the types of construction, including buildings,
site work, roads and bridges, industrial plant, utilities, etc.

L

LinkMan-E BIM tool produced by Building
Systems Design, Inc., to facilitate coordination between 3-D Building
Information Modeling software and BSD SpecLink-E. More information.

O

Outline
Specifications Very short
product specifications, usually for purposes of owner review,
estimator information, or financing agency approval.Very
short means less than one page per "section" and often
only one paragraph per product. Outline specifications are
sometimes used for construction but since they typically do not
include installation or submittal requirements they may not be
adequate for any but the most simple small project. SpecLink-E
accomplishes short form
specs by means of a "switch" that quickly changes the specifier's view
from
long form to outline or short form, and back again, without deleting
any text.

Owner The
person or entity that owns the facility or will own the facility
once it is completed.

P

Performance
Requirements Statements
regarding the performance of a facility, the built elements
(parts) of a facility, or the products the built elements are
made of. Performance requirements are ideally stated as
functional characteristics, without assuming a specific design
solution. Performance requirements are also often referred to as Design Criteria.

Performance
Specifications
Specifications written to require certain functional
characteristics; applies to entire facilities, parts of
facilities (built elements), and products (materials and
equipment). Describes how the item is to perform, not its
physical characteristics. Applies to early design phase documents
as well as construction documents. For an individual product,
proprietary, performance, and descriptive specifying techniques
may be used.

PerSpective
Automated design criteria documentation system,designed
specifically for design-build and for early design stage
documentation. Developed by the Construction Specifications Institute
and the
Design Build Institute of America. Now incorporated into BSD SpecLink-E
as Design Criteria. More information.

Prescriptive
Specifications
Construction specifications written to require certain products
with specific physical characteristics. Distinguished from
performance specifications in that the specifier has already
decided that the specified product meets functional needs. Also
refered to as descriptive specifications. For an individual
product, proprietary, performance, and descriptive specifying
techniques may be used.

Project
Record Documents
Construction drawings annotated to show all changes made during
construction. In some cases, construction specifications
annotated to show changes, substitutions, and products actually
installed. A full set of all submittals is sometimes required as
one of the project record documents. Specifications prepared
using SpecLink-E can be easily edited to form project record specs.

Proposal
Documents In a design-build situation, the
design-builder's proposal describing what he intends to construct
for the owner. It includes scope, time, cost, and quality
information. If the owner has prepared an RFP, the proposal
documents incorporate the RFP by reference and add any other
material necessary.

Proprietary
Specifications
Construction specifications written by referencing specific
products by manufacturer and brand or model name; applies to
materials and equipment. Distinguished from prescriptive
specifications in that the physical characteristics are inferred,
rather than explicitly stated. For an individual product,
proprietary, performance, and descriptive specifying techniques
may be used.

R

Regulatory
Agencies Governmental jurisdictions or departments that
issue laws, ordinances, and other regulations that design and
construction must comply with. Also referred to as code
authorities, authorities
having jurisdiction, and permits and inspection offices. Permits
and inspection offices tend to be local, rather than national,
while regulatory agencies includes agencies at every level of
jurisdiction that applies (i.e. global, national, state/province,
county/parish, city/town, utility district, special taxation
districts, etc.).

Request for
Proposal (RFP) In a design-build situation, the RFP
is the owner's document that explains what is required and how to
make a proposal. An RFP usually includes:

Instructions
to Proposers

Contract Requirements

Program Requirements

Performance Requirements

Essential product specifications

S

Short
Form Specifications Specifications for construction that do
not include a
lot of detail about installation or quality assurance. Products are
usually
described in the same detail as in the most lengthy specifications.
Short
form specifications usually assume that there is a good set of
conditions of
the contract and Division 1 General Requirements to cover procedures
and
requirements that apply to most products. There is also a tacit
assumption
that the owner and the constructor have a good, on-going relationship
and
that the constructor will be able to make a good bid that does not
force him
to cut corners in order to make a profit. SpecLink-E accomplishes short
form
specs by means of a "switch" that quickly changes the specifier's view
from
long form to short form or outline, and back again, without deleting
any text.

Space
Program A description of the spaces (rooms) required,
their sizes, who will occupy them, and any special requirements
for environment, furnishings, or finishes. This is usually a
document formatted in as a table or in a spreadsheet, so the
square footage can be added up. The owner is responsible for the
space program, although he may hire a consultant design
professional to prepare it. BSD SpecLink-E does not
include tools or information for preparing a space program. A
spreadsheet application is recommended for ease of adding up
floor area required.

Specifications
Specifications for construction describe what products
to build the project out of, how to install them, and what to
submit to prove that the construction complies with the contract
documents. Specifications are almost always accompanied by
drawings and can be very detailed or very brief, or anywhere in
between. Specifications are usually issued on paper (book size)
but are sometimes printed on large size drawing sheets and bound
with the other drawings. Specifications are usually divided into
"sections" (essentially modular documents) that
describe discrete portions of the work; in the U.S. and Canada
Masterformat™ is used to organize sections within the
project manual (specification book). Specifications are used for
other purposes than construction, including for owner review, for
cost estimator information, and for approval by code authorities.
In these cases, the nature of the specification is determined by
the audience and the contractual relationships, if any, between
the specification preparer, the owner, and the audience. Since
the term "specification" is used to mean different
things by different players in the construction industry be sure
you understand what is meant or expected in each situation. See
also:

SpecLink-E
Automated specification management system for production of
construction specifications produced by Building Systems Design, Inc.
Includes specification
sections designed for use in construction documents, short form
specifications, and design criteria documents. BSD SpecLink®-E
is the name of
the current generation of the product; earlier names have been SpecLink
and SpecLink+. More information.

Subcontractor
Any constructor entity with which another constructor
entity (prime, sub, or any level) contracts to perform part or
all of the work the original constructor has already contracted
to do. This relationship can exist in both design-bid-build and
design-build.

Substantiation
Proof orreasonable prediction or
confidence that the design and construction will perform as
expected. In design-build situations, the design-builder is
responsible for the ultimate compliance of the project to the
design criteria. The ultimate substantiation is the performance
of the built project. However, both the owner and the
design-builder prefer to have some intermediate or preliminary
proof that the design and construction will ultimately comply. So
it makes sense to ask for substantiation at each phase of the
design and construction. Preliminary substantiation can include
engineering calculations, evidence that products and systems have
been used successfully on projects before (proven-in-use),
mock-up testing (proven-by-mock-up), and certification or
warranty by the design-builder. The
Design Criteria sections of SpecLink-E include comprehensive
substantiation options
appropriate to each phase of design and construction.

The SpecLink Specifiers' Library is provided as a service to
our customers by Building Systems Design, Inc.